OXFORD, Miss. â Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding walked out of his press conference to a standing ovation from the donors who had filed into the room after the Rebels had spoiled Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford.
You can call it karma. You can call it revenge for everything that transpired over the past ten months. But, for those roaming the Ole Miss campus following the cinematic win over LSU, it was more of a sign that this football program is going to be just fine without Lane Kiffin.
A lot was made of the former coach returning this weekend to the place that truly made him. There were signs placed all throughout the “Grove” that showed the disdain the people of Mississippi had for Lane Kiffin. You didnt have to look very far.
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But, the whole thing felt more like it was made for television from the start.
Fences guarded the LSU entrance like something you’d see out of a movie involving a prison. As Kiffin stepped off the bus on Saturday evening, you could feel a quick breeze in the air.
The guy who had spent so much time trying to defend his reasonings for leaving Ole Miss before they started their CFP run had returned to coach an opposing team. But, not just any team. This was hated Rebels’ rival, LSU.
All of hoopla surrounding this return to Oxford, and maybe we should have been focusing on the guy currently in charge of running the ‘Sip.’
As Pete Golding stood at the podium after securing the second-biggest win of his short tenure as head coach (Sugar Bowl), super agent Jimmy Sexton stood off to the side. Sitting off to the right, holding one of the game balls was Ole Miss collective CEO Walker Jones, who could not help but to drop his head every now and then, almost as if it was a sigh of relief that this was over.
For the guy who he used to raise money for, Kiffin sat at his postgame table just outside the visitors locker room, mentioning how thankful he was that this week was finally over.
Yes, he did quip that it took him leaving for Ole Miss to have an environment like the one seen on Saturday night, which is just another way for him to cope with the loss tonight.
What we witnessed on a hot and humid night inside Vaught Hemingway Stadium was more about the folks who decided to stay, and not leave for the Bayou.
When the pressure was put squarely back on the Rebels, it was the guy who decided to stick around who came up big once again.
Trinidad Chambliss had thought about what life would look like outside of Oxford. Maybe he was supposed to follow Lane Kiffin to LSU, and finish his collegiate career with the same offensive coordinator that first ignited this run in Charlie Weiss Jr. along the Bayou.
But, when he sprinted around defenders towards the Ole Miss end zone to put the Rebels out in front for good late in the fourth quarter, everything this young man decided to do made sense for those involved. He is one of the most electrifying players in all of college football, and we should have paid more attention to him this week.
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Unfortunately for many, the illusion of Lane Kiffin can get the best of you. Along with the circumstances surrounding his
